"Stop Kissing Up to These Players": Former Lakers Champ Hits Out at Stan Van Gundy With Brutal Verdict Over Nikola Jokic GOAT Claim

At this point in his career, Nikola Jokic's greatness is undeniable. After three MVPs, a title and a Finals MVP later, the Denver Nuggets star had solidified his status among the all-time greats. However, claiming his status as the great is certifiably controversial.

After Stan Van Gundy claimed that Jokic might be the best player in NBA history, the former NBA coach was checked by former LA Lakers Metta World Peace. The 2010 NBA champion hit out at Gundy with a brutal comment on social media by @theScore.

"150% wrong . We need to stop kissing up to these players," the former NBA player wrote.

Metta World Peace's comment on the post

Meta World Peace isn't the only player who has taken issue with Gundy's comments. LeBron James' 2020 championship teammate, Markieff Morris, also took issue with the former Detroit Pistons coach's take and claimed Jokic wasn't better than James.

During his appearance on the Zach Lowe Show, Gundy said that Nikola Jokic "might be the best player in the history of the NBA." He reasoned his claim with another controversial take.

"We can probably say that the best 20 basketball players in history have probably played in the last twenty years," he said.

LeBron James comes up with a big praise for Nikola Jokic

Last season, Nikola Jokic lost the MVP award to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander by a narrow margin. The Nuggets superstar entered this season and has kicked off yet another MVP-caliber season.

On Friday, LeBron James heaped praise on Jokic and said that the three-time MVP was the most complete player he had ever faced in his career.

"I will say this," the LA Lakers star told co-host Steve Nash on his Mind the Game podcast. "There has not been a more dominant complete player that I've played against in a sense of all the attributes that you just mentioned, from the passing to the shooting to the rebounding to the attention. There's nothing he cannot do on the offensive end. Like, nothing at all. Nothing."

Two NBA superstars have faced each other multiple times in their careers. They faced each other twice in the playoffs in the last three years, and Jokic has been able to defeat James' team on both of those occasions. LeBron James defeated Jokic's Nuggets in the 2019-20 season on his way to his 4th title.

This season, Nikola Jokic is again putting up video game numbers. He is averaging 28.9 points, 12.4 rebounds and 10.9 assists per game.